1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a switch for a buckle, a buckle, and a method of manufacturing a buckle.
2. Description of the Related Art
Among conventional buckles, there is a type of buckle wherein when a tongue plate is inserted thereinto, a switch provided within the buckle is turned on and a state in which the tongue plate is inserted can be detected.
In this type of buckle, a protruding piece protrudes from a slider which forms a switch and is inserted into an anchor plate through a long hole formed thereat. When the tongue plate is inserted into the anchor plate, the protruding piece is pressed via a separate member such as an ejector or the like and the slider slides. Then, the switch is turned on due to the sliding of this slider.
However, in a case of the structure in which the protruding piece of the slider is inserted into the anchor plate, after the buckle main body is assembled (i.e., after components for the buckle are assembled at the anchor plate and a cover is attached thereto), the protruding piece becomes an obstacle and the slider cannot be attached to the buckle main body. Accordingly, the slider is first attached to the anchor plate, the components for the buckle are assembled next, and the cover is attached last. The number of manufacturing processes thereby increases.
Further, because the slider is attached to the buckle main body in the middle of the manufacturing process of the buckle, completely different manufacturing devices (manufacturing lines) are required for a buckle with a switch and a buckle without a switch. Therefore, there is the concern that the cost of manufacturing will increase.